NMS CONTRIBUTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SELF-REPORT STUDY ON VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR, ATTITUDES AND VICTIMIZATION AMONG YOUTH
The project "NMS Contribution to The International Self-Report Study on Violent Behaviour, Attitudes and Victimization among Youth" aims to collect self-report data on delinquency among 12,600 12 and 15 years old school children in Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Cyprus.
Violence against youth most often comes from other youngsters. The project is part of a larger study in 22 Western countries. Expected results are 6 national and 1 joint reports of the New Member States providing analyses of self-reported delinquent behaviour, victimisation (including bullying, and discrimination based on minority status), attitudes towards violence, life-style, life-events, family, school context, and neighbourhood characteristics. Beneficiaries are young victims of violence and discrimination; target group is young offenders. Better understanding of cross-national differences and similarities in correlates of offending and victimisation will assist in designing appropriate intervention and prevention programmes.
The project is needed because juvenile crime and violence in New Member States seem to be increasing at a greater pace than in the rest of Europe. New Member States are confronted by delinquency problems similar to those facing Western European countries, but also by specific problems related to their distinctive domestic situations (Graham and van der Laan, Criminology in Europe, vol. 3, No. 3, November 2004). However, most of the research on this topic is focused on Western European countries. There is a lack of internationally-coordinated systematic research on youth delinquency and violence which includes New Member States and which uses standardised instruments, sampling techniques and joint analysis. Standardised methods allow the disentanglement of national and regional similarities and differences in delinquent and violent behaviour and victimisation.
In order to respond to the problem, the project will study youth delinquency and violence and its root causes at the individual, neighbourhood, city and national level in 6 New Member States. The internationally standardised methodology (as well as the fact that this project is part of a larger effort including 22 countries) allows examination of general and country-specific correlates of violence among youth. Identifying the individual, neighbourhood, local and national level correlates of violent attitudes, violent victimisation and behaviour will expand the knowledge base needed to develop effective prevention programs.
- Stichting dr. Hilda Verwey - Jonker Instituut (Netherlands)
- Charles University Prague (Czech Republic)
- University Tartu (Estonia)
- University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
- Institute of Justice (Poland)
- University of Ljubljana Faculty of Education (Slovenia)